Todd Wells (front) and Stephen Ettinger battle it out in the pro short track race. (photo by Todd Leister)

On the final event of the day, Ettinger jumped off the front of the group early to start the men’s pro short track race, joined by Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./Specialized Factory), Russell Finsterwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./SRAM Factory) and Keegan Swenson (Park City, Utah/Cannondale Factory Racing). As the 20-minute-plus three lap format race continued, Ettinger and Wells were able to create separation, ultimately making it a two-man race. Wells, who won the pro cross-country event on Saturday, exchanged leads with Ettinger, who suffered two blown tires in the cross-country race and ultimately finished seventh.

Ettinger would not be denied this time, as the Montana native made his deciding move midway through the final lap, besting second-place Wells in 24:46.2. Wells finished in 24:50.8 and Finsterwald took third in 25:25.7.

“Today there’s just not the opportunity to have the technical problems like out on the cross-country yesterday, so today was just a tactical battle,” Ettinger said. “Seeing who had more left in the tank after a long day yesterday in the heat, I was pretty happy to come out on the top.”

Gould exacted some revenge of her own in the women’s short track final, topping the field in a heated battle on the narrow track and winning her second of two national championships on the day. Gould, who battled hard in the women’s cross-country event on Saturday before falling short to Lea Davison (Jericho, Vt./Specialized Factory), made herself a fixture at the front of the pack, working with up to three other women, including Chloe Woodruff (Tucson, Ariz.), Erin Huck (Boulder, Colo./Tokyo Joes-VCGraphix) and Davison, to move from the field. When the 20-minute start was up, officials opted to call for two laps instead of three, which is where Gould made her push. She and Woodruff quickly put space between them and the remaining field of 20 behind them, and Gould used her breakaway speed to take the Stars-and-Stripes jersey in 26:12.7, followed by Woodruff in 26:20.3 and Davison in 26:32.6.

“I was definitely looking for a little bit of redemption from yesterday when it was such a small margin that I lost by,” Gould said. “I knew that I had two more opportunities to give it a go today, and racing for a national championship is always a big deal. It’s been a good day.”

“It was weird; I woke up this morning not really nervous. I just wanted to go out and have a good run,” Powell said. “It started out pretty good, but it got pretty chunky up there because they ran the cross-country down the same descent. I got two runs in this morning, was feeling pretty good, but it’s different at race pace when you’re trying to go hard on that stuff.”

“It’s awesome. Any national championship is such an honor,” Gould said. “Nationals is always a big goal for me and I’ve never done the Super D at national championships before, but I’ve always wanted to. I’ve been working a lot on my descending, so it’s really gratifying to have it pay off.”

In the men’s senior 19-29 category, Tyler Berliner (Richmond, Vt.) assembled a 5:46.0 run to win the Stars-and-Stripes, pacing runner-up Trevor DeRuise (Reno, Nev.), who closed in 5:52.9 and Elliott Baring (Cumdming, Ga./Reality Bikes), who posted a 6:07.3. Noble scorched the competition in the women’s 19-29 race, finishing in 6:50.7 and winning by more than a full minute. Evie Racette (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Linear Sport MTB) took silver in 7:59.2, followed by Kara Uhl (Smithville, Texas/Union College-KY) in 8:16.6.

It was a good day for the Berliner family, as Tyler’s younger brother, Ryan Berliner (Richmond, Vt.), collected a national championship of his own in the men’s juniors 15-18 division. Berliner finished in an impressive 5:23.5, topping second-place Beckett, who finished two seconds later in 5:25.5. Blevins won bronze in 5:36.0. On the women’s side, Haley Batten (Park City, Utah/Whole Athlete-Specialized Cycling Team) set the pace at 6:47.6, followed by Kelsey Urban (Kentfield, Calif./Whole Athlete-Specialized Cycling Team) in 6:53.6 and Veda Gerasimek (Transfer, Pa./Whole Athlete-Specialized Cycling Team) in 6:58.7.

In the men’s juniors 9-14 action, Michael Mace (Ocala, Fla./Whole Athlete-Specialized) took his second national title of the competition, winning the Super D in 6:04.2. Scott Funston (Black Diamond, Wash./Rad Racing NW) took second in 6:22.7, followed by Colton Sacket (Troy, Texas/Tri-City Bicycles) in 6:30.9. Madison McDaniel (New Port Richey, Fla./Twin Six) took the women’s 9-14 title in 8:28.7, besting Ann Drummond’s (Springdale, Ark./Team Hammer Nutrition) 9:02.2 and Kiley Krasley’s (Coplay, Pa.) 9:40.1.

In masters competition, Nathan Winkelmann (Huntsville, Texas) took the Stars-and-Stripes in the men’s 30-39 class, working down the mountain in 5:48.9. Jason Beckley (Clifton Heights, Pa.) posted the second-best time in 6:00.6, while Robert Stine, Jr. (West Warwick, R.I./New England Cycling Team) worked into third at a 6:02.3 clip. Joanne Grogan (Hinesburg, Vt./Ness Team New England) nipped Zdenka Worsham (Raleigh, N.C./Constellation Cycling) coming in at 7:20.4 to Worsham’s 7:21.9. Kimberly Quinlan (Winooski, Vt./Bicycle Express Racing) settled in at third in 7:25.6.

Riders kick up dirt on the short track course. (photo by Todd Leister)

In the men’s 40-49 contest, Timothy Zimmerman (Jupiter, Fla.) orchestrated a 5:49.1 effort for the win, followed by fellow Floridian David MacPherson (Riverview, Fla.), who crossed in 6:12.5, and Benedict Treglia (York, Pa.) in 6:17.3. Cameron Urban (Kentfield, Calif.) proved superior in the women’s 40-49, pacing the field at 7:27.6. Karen Krasley (Coplay, Pa.) earned silver in 7:30.7, followed by Jocelyn Linscott (Hewitt, N.J./Toasted Head Racing) in 7:33.2.

This Article Published July 20, 2014
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